The Buddha's Path of Virtue: A Translation of the Dhammapada

383. Cut off the stream,[1] O Brāhmana, right manfully; Repel desires; when thou hast known the end Of things conditioned, thou shalt be A knower of the Uncreate.[2]

334. Even as a creeper groweth, Creatures that are indolent Find their craving ever grow; Like a monkey in the forest Seeking fruit from bough to bough, So they wander to and fr...

360-1 Good is restraint of eye and ear, of nose and tongue, Of body, speech and mind; restraint is good In every way; the mendicant restrained All sorrow casts away.

235. Lo! Thou art now a pale and withered leaf; Death's messengers are close at hand; Thou in the very gate of Death dost stand, And yet hast no provision for the way.

1. All states arising have mind for their causing, Mind for their master, of mind are the offspring. He who with foul mind speaks or does action-- Him pain pursues as the wheel...

44. Who shall discern this earth aright And the Realm of Death and the World of Light? Who shall choose out the Way Of righteousness well displayed, As a skilled hand chooseth a...

274. This is the way; no other way can lead ye To purify the mind and see the truth. Walk this Way and free yourselves from Māra's host of ills.

259. Not by much talk doth one uphold the Norm. Who sees the Norm in action,[1] tho' he be Of little learning, strenuous in the Norm, 'Tis he upholds the Norm.

60. Long is the night to him that is waking, Long is a league to the traveller worn, Long is the coil of births For fools that know not the truth of the Norm.

179. The Awakened One, unconquered Conqueror, Whose conquest naught in this world can undo. Who ranges o'er His boundless sphere untraced. By what tracks can ye lead Him to rebi...

106. Tho' one for a hundred years Month after month should pray With a thousand offerings, Yet if for a moment's space He worship the feet of one Whose self is self-subdued, His...

293. They who mounting guard on body, Ceaseless watch and ward preserve; They who others' things neglecting, From their duty never swerve; They who, self-controlled, aspire, Con...

[3] _Hamsā adicca-pathe yanti._ In Hinduism the _paramahamsa_, "the swan," is the mystic name for the liberated being (Cf. _Bhagavad Gītā_) who goes to the sun (_āditya_ Skt.),...

326. Once this mind roamed as it listed, as it pleaded a-wandering went. As the holder of the _ankus_ checks the furious elephant, Now with wisdom I'll restrain it, guide it who...

227. There is a saying, Atula, Of old, not of to-day: "They blame the man who silent sits, Or whose tongue wags alway; And blame the man who keeps the mean; None in the world is...

84. Not for self and not for others Do they long for sons or wealth, Not for rule, nor by injustice Self-advancement to attain; Righteous, wise and just are they.

34. Like a fish flung out on the bank; Drawn from its watery home in a tank,[1] Flutters this fugitive mind To leave the realm of Māra behind.[2]

92. They who gather up no treasure, feeding on the food that's known,[1] They who range in mind the Void, the unconditioned formless Space, As the bird's path in the ether, so t...

141. Not nakedness, nor matted hair nor filth, Not fasting long, nor lying on the ground, Not dust and dirt, nor squatting on the heels. Can cleanse the mortal that is full of d...

315. Just as a frontier town that's guarded well, Which ramparts well defend on every side, So guard thyself, let not a moment slide; Time-wasters suffer sorrow when consigned t...

28. Lo! the sage that drives away the cloud of sloth by Heedfulness, Climbing up the heights of wisdom, sorrowless looks down upon All the miserable beings, as a hillman on the...

123. Just as the lord of some rich caravan, Whose guard is scanty, fears the highwayman; As one who loves his life must poison shun, Be wise and guard 'gainst evil deeds begun.

218. In whom is longing for the Nameless[2] born, Whose mind It hath enthralled, Whose thoughts no longer are by passion torn, That man "a Climber of the Stream" is called.[3]

202. There is no fire like lust; No sin brings such ill-luck[3] as hate; No pains so great as body's pains; No bliss is like the perfect Calm.[4]

165. By self is evil done; by self is one defiled; Ill deeds not done by self to self bring purity; Each for himself is pure; each for himself impure; Thou can'st not cleanse an...

151. Just as a royal chariot gaily decked Falls to decay, so grows this body old; But Truth and Norm old age cannot assail, The holy ones indeed know no decay.